Saturday, February 09, 2008

Antarctica continues to remain warm with some cooling in higher altitudes with the approaching solstice.


February 9, 2008
0600 PM
Antarctica Surface Wind Satellite (click here for 24 hour loop)

The surface winds offer some interesting insight. The coastal areas are experiencing on shore winds with high velocity, while the winds at the top of the Blue Ice are moving off those higher altitudes and falling to lower latitudes mixing with those incoming heat transfers. This time however, as compared to the previous event whereby so much of the frigid aire of the top Blue Ice, which is far denser than the coastal, warmer air, moved to the right in this satellite photo and was pushed from a long standing area of East Antarctica; is different. This time the top altitude seems to have an 'equal' distribution of air movement in both directions from the Blue Ice which might very well indicate there is a loss of ice and a leveling of the top altitude Ice Mass. I find this air movement different than any previous and may be due to the changing shape of the Blue Ice due to sublimination.


February 9, 2008
0600 gmt
Antarctica Jet Stream

In the satellite picture below, showing the entire southern hemisphere, it's obvious from that and the Jet Stream satellite above that the Antarctica Vortex is still reaching higher latitudes while chronically bringing in heat. At 8 PM in the image above a significant heat transfer is noted arriving to the Antarctica Ice Sheets. This while the center of the vortex remains consistently steady and primarily unaffected. That lends itself to a potential for a return to a deeper freeze, at least at the highest elevations of the Blue Ice.


February 9, 2009
12 PM UTC
Temperature Satellite



February 9, 2008
1323 gmt
Antarctica


The warmest reporting stations in Antarctica:


Base Esperanza, Antarctica (Airport)

Time :: 1 PM on 2/9/08

Elevation :: 43 ft / 13 m

Temperature :: 37 F / 3 C

Conditions :: Scattered Clouds

Humidity :: 49%

Dew Point :: 25 F / -4 C

Wind :: Calm

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.66 in / 1004 hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 9.0 miles / 15.0 kilometers

Clouds :: Few 886 ft / 270 m
Mostly Cloudy 4921 ft / 1500 m
(Above Ground Level)





Great Wall, Antarctica (Airport)

Time :: 1 PM on 2/9/08

Time :: 1:00 PM EST

Temperature :: 38 F / 4 C

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Humidity :: 57 %

Dew Point :: 28 F / -2 C

Wind :: 7 mph / 11 km/h from the South

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.67 in / 1005 hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 19.0 miles / 30.0 kilometers



King Sejong, Antarctica (Airport)

Time :: 1 PM EST on 2/9/08

Temperature :: 37 F / 3 C

Conditions :: Mostly Cloudy

Humidity :: 82%

Dew Point :: 33 F / 1 C

Wind :: 12 mph / 18 km/h from the SW

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.59 in / 1002 hPa (Steady)

Visibility :: 16.0 miles / 25.0 kilometers

Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m



The coldest reporting station in Antarctica:

Vostok

Time :: 6 PM VOST on February 09, 2008

Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3429 meters

Temperature :: -36 F / -38 C

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Humidity :: 41%

Dew Point :: -45 F / -43 C

Wind :: 14 mph / 22 km/h from the WSW

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: Rising

Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers



Siple Dome


Updated: 6:50 AM NZDT on February 10, 2008

Elevation :: 9285 ft / 2830 m

Temperature :: - 51 F / -46 C

Conditions :: Ice Crystals

Windchill :: -78 F / -61 C

Wind :: 9 mph / 15 km/h / 4.1 m/s from the ENE

Pressure :: 28.20 in / 955 hPa (Falling)

Windchill :: -78 F / -61 C

Visibility :: 5.6 miles / 9.0 kilometers

UV :: 1 out of 16

Clouds :: Few 3000 ft / 914 m
(Above Ground Lev
el)



Dome C

Time :: 12:20 PM EST on 2/9/08

University Wi Id 8904, Antarctica (Airport)

Updated: 1 hr 35 min 42 sec ago

Elevation :: 10761 ft / 3280 meters

Temperature :: -56 F / -49 C

Wind :: 2 mph / 4 km/h from the WSW

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in / hPa